Jacksonville company seeks to cap concussions with new helmet technology

Sunday

Dec 29, 2013 at 12:12 AM

DREW DIXON

The very nature of football has changed because of the rise in concussions for players. Now a Jacksonville company is looking to develop an "intelligent helmet" that could use technology to improve the way football helmets respond to traumatic blows in order to drive down the number of head injuries.

Sports Technologies LLC is in the developmental phase of advancements that company officials say could radically reduce head injuries for those who not only wear football helmets, but other sports headgear as well as protective helmets for employees in dangerous work along with potential military applications. Similar to a series of computer panels with chips, wires, circuit boards and carbon dioxide cartridge, the emerging design is supposed to act as an adjustable pad to the head.

"The invention provides an inner lining to an existing helmet similar to the concept of a car's air bag in protecting the brain from concussion," said Peter Martinez, the CEO for the Center for Sports Medicine and Performance Excellence in Boca Raton and adviser with Sports Technologies. "But, it realigns itself after a major collision for a potential next collision."

Dubbed an "intelligent helmet" by Martinez, sensors placed throughout and under the padding of the head wear release the carbon dioxide gas to different areas of the helmet upon collision and send data back to personnel on the sideline as well as indicate where the padding needs to be adjusted. The device even has medical data readings that could indicate a concussion might have occurred after a collision.

Rick Johnson, CEO and founder of Sports Technologies, said he doesn't consider the company to be a helmet manufacturer or a competitor to established helmet makers, such as Riddell, which is widely used by many football players. Johnson said the device is more or less designed to augment safety in existing helmet manufacturing and shouldn't drive up football helmet costs much higher than the current $250 to $300 range per helmet.

"It was designed to be an insert into a standard helmet that is produced today," Johnson said. "That is not to say that in the future there may be some modifications as to how helmets are built to accommodate this technology as it is developed."

Johnson said he considers the padding device to be as potentially revolutionary as what NASCAR developed with more sophisticated head restraints for drivers following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001 at the Daytona 500. But Johnson said the padding system under development by Sports Technologies would be aimed at helmets worn in other sports and places of work.

Jim Ryan, financial consultant for Sports Technologies, said the company has not entered any agreements for production yet. But the system is already undergoing testing and research analysis at the University of Florida. Jerry Merckel, professor of electrical engineering at the University of North Florida, helped develop the business model as well as mounting a research and development approach while acquiring a patent from the U.S. Patent Office with 15 patents pending.

Padding in football and other sports helmets doesn't compress or change in structure with the flexibility of the system in development by Sports Technologies, Ryan said. The "assembly" would use five primary cushions and could take up to about 100 G-forces while slowing an impact down so the head and brain don't get damaged.

Ryan said concussion thresholds can vary in individuals, but 40 to 65 G-forces is the critical range where many concussions occur. A G-force represents one unit of the normal gravitational weight on a person's body. An "accelerometer" is used to measure the number of G-forces, which the Sports Technology device includes in the helmet.

"Electronically, it will start slowing down the head to the hit," Johnson said. "The electronic system in this helmet will be the one that will modulate and slow down the brain from moving toward the impact."

Key time for helmet

The development comes as head trauma, particularly in football, has undergone high-profile exposure in recent years. This year, the PBS television program "Frontline" aired a scathing report that detailed attempts from multiple levels of football administrators and organizers who previously downplayed the connection between concussions and playing contact football for years.

In August, the NFL reached a tentative $765 million settlement for thousands of former NFL players over concussion-related brain injuries. The league not only agreed to compensate victims, but also pay for medical exams and fund research and development, an ESPN.com report said.

Following the increased media exposure, the NFL and other leagues, trickling down to teens and younger athletes, have modified rules to better protect the head and reduce concussions in football.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league has already initiated a multi-million dollar initiative in hopes of advancing helmet-safety.

In a phone interview from his NFL offices in New York City, McCarthy said the league is hesitant to back any one technology over the other. However, there's little doubt that breakthroughs in helmet safety are getting closer.

"We embrace technology and have encouraged innovation with all facets of our game on the field with rule changes," McCarthy said, noting the league granted $30 million to the National Institutes of Health and initiated a partnership with General Electric in a $60 million joint venture designed to encourage safety development.

McCarthy declined to comment specifically on Sports Technologies' developments and said the league cannot force players to buy a specific brand of helmet. But he acknowledged that kind of technical development is exactly what the NFL is trying to spur.

"This will hopefully benefit athletes in all sports, past, present and future," McCarthy said. "There are dozens of companies that are doing helmet-related technology and we have a subcommittee that works on equipment."

Brunell serves as essential liaison

Sports Technologies does have a willing ambassador to the NFL working on the company's behalf in Mark Brunell. The 19-year NFL veteran and former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback is an unpaid consultant for the company.

Brunell said he sees his involvement with Sports Technologies more as a liaison to potential manufacturers. Brunell, now a football analyst for ESPN and football coach at Episcopal School of Jacksonville, said he had at least two serious concussions during his playing days and several "mild" concussions, which intrigued him about the research and development by the Jacksonville company after Johnson contacted him.

"With my experience in the game of football and my experience with head injuries, I thought I would listen to the guy [Johnson] and I was impressed. I was blown away," Brunell said, adding that he'll be compensated if Sports Technologies begins to generate revenue.

"I believe the game of football is in jeopardy unless technology comes to the forefront that actually protects the player," Brunell said. "Just at the high school level, less and less players are playing football."

Brunell admitted he's concerned about head protection not only for his own players at Episcopal, but for his two sons, one who is in high school and the other in the middle school ranks.

Brunell acknowledged he's not sure how the business will develop for Sports Technologies. But his function for the company is to develop contacts, to which he has many in the athletic world.

"I've had boots on the ground in this business and I've had a lot of experience and a lot of contacts in the game of football," Brunell said. "In infinite ways, this technology is very, very important to me. In just my love of the game of football, I'd love to see this technology obviously make a difference and make our game safer."

Could raise Jacksonville profile as tech hub

Sports Technology company officials have already reached out to the city of Jacksonville for possible consideration for economic incentives. While the city's Business Development Project Manager Joe Whitaker said it's too early for those considerations, he said it's "very important" that the company has Brunell on board as their key connection.

Still, Whitaker, who works in the city's Office of Economic Development, said there are some impressive elements to the developments of Sports Technologies. But they'll have to gain more traction and prove there's economic merit before any local economic incentives are actualized.

"The technology that they are developing has been needed for a long time. ...," Whitaker said. "It takes a long time to do a 'proof-of-concept,' especially for something like this."

While the city won't provide any incentives for now, Whitaker said his office will be watching the developments at Sports Technologies because if the helmet safety system takes off from this particular company, it could be a boost to the city's image as an emerging technological hub.

"If they are successful, and we hope that they are, it gives Jacksonville an opportunity to be able to widen our research and development efforts and attract like-type businesses to come here. We'd be showing that we can actually take a concept and bring it out into the marketplace," Whitaker said. "I think it enhances our profile. ... I believe they're on the right track in developing the technology."

Whitaker said the "proof-of-concept" phase where Sports Technologies finds itself is the most difficult place to be in product development. Preparation for manufacturing will have to be actualized before company officials would qualify for government financial incentives on the local, state or federal level.

Ryan said if the venture does make it to a manufacturing level, Sports Technologies would likely hire up to 80 high-skilled employees to work at the company.

If that happens, Whitaker said the company would qualify for tax refund programs from $3,000 to $8,000 per employee, depending on the wage. There would also be financial assistance for tax breaks for building a manufacturing facility which could lead to expansion and growth of the company.

"I don't believe it is a gamble at this point," Ryan said. "The proof-of-concept will bear out and the required processes could be in force by mid-2014."

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